INTHEBLACK February 2024 - Magazine - Page 19
“The need for us to connect new renewable generation is growing by the minute.
Marinus Link is part of the solution, because it allows us to export firm energy
generation from Tasmania to the mainland.”
ROSS BURRIDGE AM FCPA, TASNETWORKS
to the electricity grid and the economy, but
to regular Australian households.
“The message we need to get through
is that people will be paying less for their
energy than they otherwise would have.
We’ve got to try to demonstrate that it will
actually mitigate cost pressures,” he says.
THE GIFT OF ENERGY
Burridge is a firm believer in contributing
his accounting skills and commercial acumen
beyond the boardroom.
When his children became involved with
Little Athletics, he volunteered as treasurer.
It was not long before Burridge was appointed
president of Little Athletics Tasmania and
then headed up the national body.
He has been involved with the organisation
for 20 years and, in 2021, was appointed
Member of the Order of Australia for his
service to the sport and the community.
“When I took over as president, it was a
volunteer organisation in every sense of the
word – and it still is – and that’s the strength
of it, but at a corporate level, it needed a lot
of reform,” Burridge says. “I was able to bring
in a CEO and lift it to a standard that the
Australian Sports Commission needed.
“Having an accounting background was
useful with getting the finances in order,
and there was also a fair bit of work to do
on the culture.
“It was a challenge, but it is in better shape
than it was a few years ago, and I’ve been
pleased to be involved at that level.”
Burridge says he has also been pleased to
be able to offer advice to accounting and
finance graduates when they come calling.
“I suppose I’ve got two pieces of advice.
The first is always do what you say you’re
going to do. If you commit to having
something done by a particular date, have
it done.
“The other piece of advice is, if you’ve
got a problem, don’t just ignore it. Escalate
it, because if you just put it in the drawer
and forget about it, it’ll become a bigger
problem.”
READ
an INTHEBLACK
article on how to
make Australia a
renewable energy
superpower
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 19
